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September 26 2011

2:43 AM

ATLANTA -- We won't know Fred Couples’ final decision
until that teleconference on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

But Bill Haas certainly put himself at the center of the
conversation about who will be the U.S. captain's final pick for
the Presidents Cup when he won the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola
in a playoff on Sunday -- and with it, the FedExCup and it's $10
million bonus.

Couples will likely choose from between Haas, who finished 12th
in the Presidents Cup standings; No. 11 Brandt Snedeker and rookie
Keegan Bradley, who has won twice this year, including the PGA
Championship. Couples has already announced that Tiger Woods will
get the other Captain's Pick for the biennial matches that will be
held in November at Royal Melbourne.

Haas, for his part, is just happy to have put himself in serious
consideration. Bradley tied for 11th on Sunday while Snedeker was
tied for 16th.

"I'm not going to say it gets me to Australia," Haas said. "It
definitely puts me in the talk up there with some of the guys that
everybody has been talking about. I did what I could do. I
would love to represent the United States in the Presidents Cup and
play for Fred Couples, and I just wanted to play well today because
I knew if I didn't play well I could easily play my way out of that
talk."

Complicating the situation a little bit right now is the fact
that Haas' father Jay is one of Couples' assistant captains. "I'm
going to stay out of it and I told Fred that same thing for the
last couple of weeks," the elder Haas said as he waited for the
awards ceremony to begin.

Jay Haas has played on two Presidents Cup teams and is serving
as an assistant captain for the second time this year. His son
understands that Couples faces a difficult decision.

"It would be easy to say that he's getting favored or he didn't
get picked because he didn't want to look like he was favored,"
Bill Haas said. "It could work both ways. However the media wants
to spin it, it could be spun as Jay Haas's son got picked as
opposed to Bill Haas got picked. But I think winning here helps
eliminate that, and that was all I wanted to do, play well, play
solid, do what I could do for myself to be looked at as a possible
pick.

"Like I said, I'd love to represent the United States and go
down and play The Presidents Cup. I think it would be a memory of a
lifetime and an experience and just another stepping stone for me
to try to get better because I definitely have a lot of room to
go."

Jay Haas had 67 texts within minutes after the final putt
dropped. Several came from his long-time friend Curtis Strange --
"Proud of your boy, congrats, happy for you guys," he said -- as
well as Couples and the other assistant captain, NBA great Michael
Jordan. Haas thumbed through his iPhone as he talked about how
excited he was that his son had a chance to make the American
team.

"I know he was really disappointed last week to shoot 42 on the
back nine when he could've finished if off there," Jay Haas said.
"So I'm doubly proud of him for coming back this week and playing
well and coming back from yesterday's finish too, a bogey,
double-bogey finish when he was tied for the lead. I think that
says a lot for him. It's hard to overlook that.

"You'd think if Brandt Snedeker or Keegan Bradley or Bill wins
this tournament they should get that spot, perhaps. But again, I'm
going to stay out of it. You can second guess. Any of these 30
guys, the Americans that are here would be a good pick."

Jay Haas also said he likes the passion he sees in the younger
players like the three prime candidates for the final U.S.
pick.

“I know Keegan's comments were that I think about it every
third hole and I think that's great,” Haas said. “I
think that is great that the young guys really want to be on those
teams. It means so much to them, Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup.
…

"I think that's great for the American tour and there's so many
great young guys that are capable and the group's kind of turning
over a little bit."